The women's 200 metre freestyle event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

took place 8–9 August at the

Olympic Aquatics Stadium The Olympic Aquatics Stadium ( pt, Estádio Aquático Olímpico) was a temporary aquatics center in the Barra Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro. The venue hosted the Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics, swimming events, Synchronized swimming at t ...

Summary

After a world-record breaking victory in the 400 m freestyle two days earlier, U.S. distance ace Katie Ledecky pulled away from the field to capture the Olympic mid-distance freestyle crown and her second individual gold at these Games. Hanging with the leaders at the 150-metre turn, Ledecky fended off Sweden's

Sarah Sjöström Sarah Fredrika Sjöström (; born 17 August 1993) is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialising in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events. She is the current world record holder in the 50 metre freestyle (long course), the 100 metre freestyle ...

towards a gold-medal finish in 1:53.73. Despite trying to hold on Ledecky at the final lap, Sjöström was unable to catch her near the wall, and settled for the silver in 1:54.08. Meanwhile, Australia's

Emma McKeon Emma Jennifer McKeon, (born 24 May 1994) is an Australian competitive swimmer. She is a four-time world record holder, one current and three former, in the 4x100 metre freestyle relay. Her total career haul of 11 Olympic medals following the ...

moved up from one of the outside lanes to take home the bronze in 1:54.92. Italy's world-record holder

Federica Pellegrini Federica Pellegrini (; born 5 August 1988) is an Italian retired swimmer. A native of Mirano, in the province of Venice, she holds the women's 200 meters freestyle world record (long course, 50 m), and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing ...

dropped off the podium for the second straight Olympics to fourth in 1:55.18, charging a 0.07-second edge ahead of China's

Shen Duo Shen Duo (; born 9 June 1997) is a Chinese competitive swimmer who specializes in sprint freestyle events. Considered one of the most promising swimmers in the international scene, she currently holds three world junior records each in the 100 m ...

and McKeon's countrywoman

Bronte Barratt Bronte Amelia Arnold Barratt, OAM (born 8 February 1989) is a retired Australian competitive swimmer and Olympic gold medallist. Career Born in Brisbane on 8 February 1989, Barratt was coached by John Rodgers at the Albany Creek Swim Club. At ...

, bronze medalist from London 2012, both of whom shared the fifth-place time with a matching 1:55.25. Sjöström's teammate

Michelle Coleman Michelle Coleman (born 31 October 1993) is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialized in the sprint freestyle and backstroke events. She is the current Swedish national record holder in the 100 meter backstroke (short cou ...

grabbed the penultimate spot of the top eight in 1:56.27, with France's Charlotte Bonnet (1:56.29) narrowly trailing her by 0.02 of a second to round out the field. Notable swimmers missed the final roster, including four-time Olympic gold medalist

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (born May 10, 1995) is an American former competition swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She formerly held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course). As a member of the U.S. national swim team ...

, who tied for thirteenth with Hong Kong's Siobhán Haughey (1:57.56) in the semifinals. In the medal ceremony, the medals for the competition were presented by

Franco Carraro Franco Carraro (born 6 December 1939) is an Italian sport manager and politician. Career Carraro was born on 6 December 1939 in Padua, at the time Kingdom of Italy. He worked in many high-profile roles in the public and private sectors. He ...

, Italy, IOC member, and the gifts were presented by

Paolo Barelli Paolo Barelli is an Italian Senator and suspended president of the Italian Swimming Federation, and a former swimmer. On 24 July 2009 he was named Honorary Secretary of FINA for the 2009-2013 term.

, Italy, Honorary Secretary of

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

Competition format

The competition consisted of three rounds: heats, semifinals, and a final. The swimmers with the best 16 times in the heats advanced to the semifinals. The swimmers with the best 8 times in the semifinals advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties for advancement to the next round.

Results

Heats

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics - Women's 200 metre freestyle Women's 00200 metre freestyle

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

2016 in women's swimming Women's events at the 2016 Summer Olympics